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Digication Scholars Conversations...
Welcome to Digication
Scholars Conversations.
I'm your host, Kelly Driscoll.
In this episode, you'll hear Part
Two of my conversation with Brittany
Linus, an undergraduate student
pursuing a dual degree in African and
African-American Studies and Digital
Humanities at Stanford University.
More links and information about today's
conversation can be found on Digication's
Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Full episodes of Digication Scholars
Conversations can be found on
YouTube or your favorite podcast app.
I wanted to ask you a little bit.
So as you were talking, you were kind
of referring to the kind of characters
that are developed that really become
extensions of, of who we are when
we're interacting with the video games.
And I think you described
this as kind of modding.
And I was curious if you could explain
a little bit about what that means
to you and how this connects to.
Kind of some of the concepts that you
were exploring through the Visible Bodies
project, because I do see that there's
this very tight correlation there.
And if you could kind of expand on that,
I would love, I would love to hear it.
So this is, this is beautiful.
Um, so modding is short for
video game modifications.
And when you're talking about computer
games, and specifically the ones that,
um, you play on your personal computers,
Modding is a personally decided,
communally negotiated phenomenon.
It's personally decided because
you have to make a decision.
You decided that the way this interface
looks right now, the experience that I
am happy with it is not the most optimal.
So I am going to change it.
That's the decision that you make.
The second one in terms of communal
negotiation is the way, the
style, the sensibility that you
go about making those changes.
For me, I am using The
Sims as a case study.
So the Life Simulator, one where you can
build an avatar and, and dictate what
they do on a day to day basis, right?
For me, that is my case study because I've
been playing The Sims for years and The
Sims was published back in 2000, right?
It's like 23, 24 years old now.
So there are so many people around the
world who engage in modding to turn
this platform into their own universe.
And that was the beauty of it,
of it being personally decided.
This is, it's a single player experience.
So the only thing that is being
affected is your world and you
dictate what's going on in your world.
You're the architect, you're the sculptor.
And so with the video game modifications
that are occurring and what I do
through my scholarship is I want to
acknowledge and essentially write
a thank you letter, a dedication
to the fact that the phenomenon
modding is communally negotiated.
There are people out there.
Who, when they look at a website or when
they look at a video game, say The Sims,
can readily acknowledge its limitations.
And one of the limitations of The Sims
was that it lacked a proper representation
of Black aesthetics on the platform.
I mean, it took us so long to get
skin tones, an expansive palette
of skin tones on the interface.
And let's not even talking about an
extensive palette of skin tones, but
skin tones that render beautifully
just given the technologies.
Limitations and platforms.
That is a demonstration of an
understanding of how blackness and
virtual spaces, how they can exist.
However, the way that it has
been iterating for the last
few years was not optimal.
The gaming experience is
supposed to be a pleasurable one.
You're supposed to feel good
when you play a video game.
Well, for black, Digital users.
For black simmers like myself, that
wasn't the experience that we were having.
So instead of saying we are going to just
not play this game, we made a decision.
We decided that we're going to modify
this game and we're going to modify
it with the tools at our disposal.
So there are some of us who have gone
the same way that I went to go and
learn HTML and CSS to build my thesis.
Exhibition.
That's the same thing that so many
black video game players do in order
to cultivate this pleasurable gaming
experiences with the black aesthetics
that they see on a day to day basis.
They replicate it.
They make it better.
And the thing is they share it.
And so what is available is
this entire free market of
modifications that you, right?
As the, as the player, as the architect,
as the sculptor, have an opportunity to
choose from, to build your world, to build
the avatars, to dictate what they do.
And thus, the experience right of a video
game that was initially disappointing
becomes one of rejuvenation of rest, of
empowerment, of beauty, of appreciation.
A little bit of indulgence.
It is beautiful.
It's great.
It is something that, I mean,
it's a process of making Blackness
in virtual spaces visible.
And that is the connection between
my thesis, Video Game Modifications,
and the Visible Bodies Project.
Black female authors exist.
It's just that the spaces in which
they are readily recognized and
appreciated, it's few and far between.
And so how can I consolidate these
liminal spaces into one place?
And not necessarily consolidate,
it's one of presentation.
A firm declaration that these beautiful
people exist and they're doing amazing.
So my job, really, And that's the,
that's the crux of black studies, right?
It's literally magnification of
voices that just tend to be sidelined,
marginalized, put on the back burner,
but they are still doing the work
just because they don't have a patent.
Just because they haven't been
published by this esteemed or
prestigious university does not
minimize the impact that they're doing.
But rather, me as someone who
is a Black digital user, someone
who is a student and has never
interacted with works like these.
I see their work.
It speaks to me.
I am in those liminal spaces.
I am a participant, a community
member, and they are the stewards.
It is my job, right, as their students,
as their pupils, to ascertain that
I am not only learning from them,
but I am extending to them the
appreciation that they so deserve.
Because it is, it is hard work.
It is difficult work.
It is a decision that you have to make a
fight that you are deciding to do, right?
A grapple with the dominant
narrative and expectations.
And yet you still do it because you
know that not only will this make you
feel good, but it will make the people
who follow in line have a better.
better experience.
So me as a Sim Player, when I play
The Sims now, I'm like, shoot, I don't
even think about how the skin tones can
be just a little bit ashy or there's
not a lot of hairstyles available.
I'm not even thinking about that.
I'm like, you know what?
I can go and get some Kiko Vanity
or I can go to Xmiramira on The Noir
Network and they have something there
for me that will make the game fun.
And so I am not missing out.
I probably have one of the greatest
experiences with the interface.
It's the same way with Digication.
So a lot of people, when they
see like that, my advisors are on
there, when they see Joel is on
there, they're not missing out.
All of the information is right there.
And you too can have a
pleasurable experience.
We're just making it accessible to you.
Now we're making it visible.
And that's why, I mean, it's just been
at the heart of what we do to give.
Students ability to really become
publishers so that they can celebrate
who they are alongside those that have
influenced them and that they have
learned from and have this kind of
continuous loop And, you know, I do think
it becomes a tool for empowerment to be
able to share your story and the stories
of others that have influenced you.
And I recall as part of the visual
bodies project, there's an area
where you were able to share some
interview experiences that you had.
So could you describe a little bit about
what that experience was like and what
it felt like to be able to kind of.
Interns share their stories as well.
Oh, yes, it was.
You know, the class, I think what the
greatest takeaway from that class was
the fact that the guest speakers, the
authors, the writers that we invited,
they were given the space as experts.
to really share, not only their
professional experience in the publishing
space, in the writing spaces, but
also as teachers, as stewards, as
students, people who are observing
the world the same way that I do.
And there are these moments, and
conversation Um, where we all, all of
us in the room, it was, it was kind
of like, she would give an example.
I would say like, Joel would give
an example of a phenomenon that
we're seeing and everyone in the
room just looks at each other.
We're like, Not a word
said, not a word said.
We're all just Yeah.
That's right.
And the beauty of transcription is
you have to capture those moments too.
It's not only the moments that
are spoken, it's the, it's
the moments that are unspoken.
And with that, There's also these
transitions in conversation that sometimes
they're seamless and sometimes they're
not sometimes it feeds into other
conversations previous conversations.
Yeah, other authors.
And so you can see this through
line also that these moments,
these unspoken moments.
These callbacks to other conversations
that we've had, and then sort of like,
it's like us in the past throwing out
a bone for us in the future to catch.
All of these beautiful strings
intertwining to cultivate and
for us to then document, um, The
knowledge, the experiences, the
observations that we are making.
And the thing about it
is that it's so raw.
Like, I remember when Joel came to us and
was just like, do you, would you want to
like to work on a transcription project?
And we were like, transcription,
what are we transcribing?
Those conversations.
And so I'm there and I'm like, whoa.
You know, and, and Joel made a point.
Joel said.
No sanitization.
We want, I want it raw, uncut, everything
there, and you can refer back to it.
Uh, I want you in the best way possible
to capture the exclamation point.
I want you to capture, you know, the
faces that are being made, if you
can, and put that on the document.
And so here I am, working through
this, this like hour long video.
I'm transcribing everything.
And it just made me really think on some
like meta level, just made me think about,
wow, this particular experience and how
I am not trans, I'm not only translating
the knowledge, but I'm also translating
the experience, the glances that were made
around the room, the sudden, exclamation
points, hey, like someone's dog barked.
You have to clue that in there.
Like, you have all of these
beautiful, these beautiful
moments that make us human.
And I think that is the part,
that unpolished part, a lot
of us don't necessarily see.
We see the result.
We don't really see the process.
Um, and we don't really see those.
It was just those moments.
I mean, it's the moments that we don't
expect that's just beyond us that where
communication is just beyond words.
And it's so beautiful to just capture
that and extend it to other people to see.
And so I was honestly, I was just
like, Oh, but this is a lot of text.
This is a lot of text, you know,
to sit here and expect someone
to just like read through it.
I'm not sure if this is like, It's
something that I want people to read,
but that was also a challenge, right?
Like I had to decide if I was going to
just make that available or apparent
and what type of workarounds were there.
So instead of posting the whole chunk,
I just chose a section and I put it
there and I added a little disclaimer.
So this is what this
particular page contains.
So if you want to, and you have an
interest, I'm looking at transcription
and what that entails, and so you
have another frame of reference.
You can feel free to use it.
As a designer.
Of course, I am here to
guide user experiences, but
I don't dictate that, right?
You are still your own
person, your own user.
What speaks to you is
going to speak to you.
My job is just to make it as accessible,
as open, as inviting, as warm as it
possibly can, so you can get and maximize
on the impact that that particular
section, that transcription has on you.
Oh, beautifully said.
And so, Brittany, I have here, um,
your project pulled, pulled up here.
And I wanted to talk a little bit about
the beautiful kind of who I am page.
I don't know if you remember the details
of that so well, but, you know, very often
when we come to some of the, um, Project
portfolios or more traditional kind of
maybe career oriented portfolios and they
have a who I am very often, you know,
there might be a photo of the individual
and a text bio And you made a really
deliberate decision to represent yourself
differently there and I would love for
you if you could describe a little bit
about your thinking there, maybe why you
went a different direction and some of
the kind of media choices that you made
to present right there, cause that is
this kind of entryway into this beautiful
project that you created and led me to
that initial first gasp when I opened it.
And I would love to hear
about your process there.
Cause it was, it was
unexpected and so beautiful.
Thank you so much.
It was honestly, that page was the last
page that I worked on because I think
it was I was in that space where by the
time I was working on the portfolio, I
had all of my technical artifacts, right?
At that point, it was just
arrangement, stylization, maybe
a few changes here and there.
But with the who I am, that was
not You know, there was no syllabus
or, or like categorization table
of contents that I could use.
That was something that
I had to design myself.
And I was like, you know, and I
remember like, um, Digication has
a feature where you can look at
other portfolios and see what other
people have done and even kind of.
Export their page onto your own.
And I was looking for
inspiration at the time.
There are a few, there are programs here.
There's the, um, program in
writing and rhetoric who utilized
Digication as a Portfolio Capstone.
So that's where the archive
that I was kind of perusing.
And I was like, what
did they put in there?
And they utilize the webpage.
As a, just literally, I mean,
almost like a, like a resume
with a lot more personality.
I had a zinger, I had a picture,
highly personalized, highly detailed.
And I wanted to make mine
a little bit different.
And I was just like, how can I do that?
Could I mock up an app?
That was like, that was the challenge.
At the time that I was working with
Digication, I was also introduced to
this platform called Figma, which is
where I do a lot of my graphic designing.
Yes.
And my prototyping, user
experience prototyping.
And so my very first project on Figma
was how could I prototype an app that
explained and showcased who I was
in the most engaging way possible.
So I was like, well, you know, a lot of
the designers I see, They have a logo.
A lot of the designers that I see on their
platforms give context as to who they
are, um, and what their interests are.
And they also kind of showcase that
they're more than just a scholar.
They're more than just an artist.
They are a community member.
They are, say, an anime lover.
All of these quirks, I wanted to just Put
on there initially and I wanted to really
hone in on the fact that you know what
by and large I'm a technologist I I want
people to see that I love I cannot imagine
living in a world without a smartphone
I just it's like it's so useful.
You have a supercomputer in
your hand Probably at all
times that still astounds me.
And so it's that you the ubiquitousness
of Technology that I really
wanted to convey, but you've never
seen it on a, like a meta level.
Like this is, I'm on a computer right
now on this website and someone's
showing me an app that's on a
phone on this very same website,
on this very same, Website.
And so that was my rationale.
I was really interested in how I could
utilize as much visual aids to showcase
who I was, exercise that technical
skill through utilizing a platform that
I wasn't familiar with at the time.
And by and large, start thinking
about what my own design process is.
What I think deserves to go into
a who I am section of my bio.
That is a totally, I mean, it really just.
Would I change?
I would do some things
differently now, like now that
I've had a lot more experience.
Of course.
I mean, it's three years later, right?
Yes.
Maybe, like, maybe the gray was a little
There's, there are other pop, there
are other colors that and textures that
could probably work, but the idea, the
intuition has stayed the same, right?
Just this reliance on on
technology and the visual aids.
It's still there.
I still use it.
Even in my thesis, I'm still using it.
So, it has been quite the journey.
I love where I started, and I love
what I came up with in the end.
Because it also forces
you to sit down and think.
Because you're like, wait,
but where is the bio.
I only see like a, like, first
of all, like what is that?
I only see like a little app on a phone.
I want to know more
about who is this person.
So it forces you to sit with it and
that's when you start to think about it.
Yeah, I love that.
It's absolutely an invitation.
It's an invitation to explore.
For sure.
Yeah.
You, it, and it was a, it's not
a traditional approach and it's,
I think you mentioned a word
earlier, something like a magnitu..
magnitu....
Yeah.
It's, it's very in your
face, full screens, dry.
Welcome.
And
welcome.
Here's the invitation to get to know me.
And explore, you know, what, what
I'm fascinated in and learning about.
And right from there, you know,
as you browse through some of the
other pages, um, the next that
you have right next to who I am is
exploring the African literary world.
Yes.
And you have this beautiful introduction
to what, storytelling means to
you and why it's so important.
Do you recall some of the kind of
points that you made in that page?
It's so, I mean, it has been,
it's been a few years, honestly.
Um, but I do believe like one of the
biggest Focuses that I honed in on is,
it's feeling, it's experience, it's that
accompaniment and how storytelling has
always been, right, it's always been
a tool of translation, communication,
and it is so useful, it is so useful,
especially in the context of history.
And if you're indulging in or in
the process of ethnic studies.
It becomes one of the most
important tools of record, tools
of scholarship, tools of pedagogy.
Um, and that's why I started specifically
with storytelling and really Joel started
the course with that question too.
And so it's one that is thought provoking.
It really has you to think what,
what does it mean to Tell a story.
And how does that differ
from storytelling?
It just, those are the big idea
questions that I walked away from,
from the very first class, um,
when it came to Visible Bodies.
And I wanted that to be the first
thing outside from, besides for
myself, um, and who I am, that I
wanted the users to experience.
It is storytelling.
But what does that mean in
the African literary world?
How does that translate?
What are the politics
when it comes to that?
And how do they intersect?
Where do they parallel?
And how can that focus and that, that
definition, this term, this experience?
How can it connect to
other modalities, right?
Indigenous American Studies, Asian
American Studies, all of these
different experiences that are beyond
borders, and in fact, bridging borders.
Um, how can we facilitate that connection.
Well, it first starts with
this inter really interrogating
this idea of storytelling.
Because there's a big, there's
a very, very big difference
in the literary world, right?
Because when you tell a story,
I had, there was, I just had
an amazing conversation with
one of my, one of my advisors.
She says, when you're telling
a story, there's an assumption,
um, that is already made, right?
Say you're telling a story to your mom.
There are certain details you can
omit because she knows you there
are that's right Yeah, you can you
and you know, and you know her so
you can sanitize something, you
know, she did something, you know
You weren't supposed to be just...
It's gonna look differently
when
you tell it to your friends Versus
Storytelling, you're kind of, and
you're literally inventing a world.
You have to give context.
You have to build it up.
Something must be at stake.
It has to have a
beginning, middle, and end.
Maybe a little bit of a rise in action.
Something that is going to guide
and push the reader, the viewer,
the listener, to continue on.
To listen.
And that is what a lot of these
books, with these authors, with the
publishing houses, and the criteria,
that's what they're pushing for.
That's what they're advocating for.
And so in spaces where the literary
world has not received a lot of
appreciation, many aside from a few
books here and there, it becomes even
more important as a form of cultural
rhetoric, to establish storytelling
as a tool of not only Translation,
Communication, but then also Survival.
Um, and so that is really, that's, it was
almost like a little bit of a disclaimer.
I'm like, so what are you thinking?
Literary world, what does that mean?
What, how does that, what does that have
to do with Africa and then storytelling?
Here is what I'm talking about.
And with this disclaimer, you
then have a better context.
Um, or understanding in your mind of
how the rest of the portfolio is going
to go and in what world, what shape is
this particular project unfolding in?
Nice.
And as you were speaking, I was just
kind of having some parallel thoughts
to what you were describing in your
interaction with The Sims earlier.
And how you're kind of building your own,
you're the architect of your own world
and you're kind of constructing your own
narrative in that environment and making
choices and what other characters you're
interacting with, what your character
looks like, what space you're existing in.
I know there's a lot of design
elements that go into that.
And kind of the power to be able to
create these kind of parallel, almost
these kind of parallel existences
and parallel lives and community and
connections alongside what we have
outside of our virtual worlds, right?
So, um, I love that.
And I know we're getting near the end
of our Time together today, Brittany,
and I, I just really wanted to extend
again a huge thank you for joining me
today and sharing your story and your
experience with Digication and I, I
hope we can continue to stay in touch.
I'm really excited.
I'm so excited about your thesis
and I'm so happy that we've been
able to connect and that Digication
has been able to be this kind of
springboard for you into pursuing
all of these other amazing things.
I'm so excited to see where you
continue to grow and go in the world.
So thank you again, Brittany.
Of course.
Thank you so much for providing
this space, this platform.
I mean, you even, you even
called it like a conversation.
I was just like, yes.
Like, I'm like, oh my God,
I'm dying to talk about it.
You know, it's, it's, it's.
From a digital humanities standpoint,
it's always so lovely to see people
kind of take this, um, serious approach
to, to web development and presentation
and the utility of portfolio thinking,
because really it's a space of just
self reflection, like me just spending
hours just like, okay, so what, you
know, Maybe this layout, this section
should go under this section, and maybe I
should maybe turn and make another page.
It's always a time for reflection,
and that is the, probably the greatest
gift that Digication gave to me as
a student, which was just, I got to
think about myself and my experience
and how I'm going to translate that.
It was all about, Me, it was all about
me and I had help with that from the
way that the interface was designed to
the example templates that are available
to, I mean, the contact me and I had
like experts in the classroom, in
the introductory seminars program who
could also walk me through the process.
If I had an idea, I
didn't know how it worked.
I could just go to them.
So it was a beautifully curated.
experience as a student and it made
me less hesitant about building and
cultivating a portfolio for myself.
So now when I go and I talk, now I'm
transitioning, I'm matriculating,
you know, out of Stanford.
I'm starting that process.
You have to start applying to jobs,
start networking and meeting people.
And so it even becomes more important
for you to provide them with something
that they can walk away with.
And so one day when they, you know,
they're just thinking about you,
they just pull you up and boom.
Your website says everything
that a 30 second pitch cannot.
And so it's, it just, and that literally
I'm, I'm, I'm not even gonna lie to you.
It, I've had so many different
fellowships, internships, just because.
I had this project under my belt.
So as much as you're extending to
me a thanks, I think it's always
important as a student, I feel
like that is my responsibility.
The very least I can do is to make
sure that you are receiving your
thanks and the gratitude, because.
What you all created, that's a life
changing, and I'm an example of that.
That's a life changing interface.
That's a life changing project.
Oh, Brittany, you're gonna make me cry.
Well, thank you so much.
My heart is so full right now
and, uh, I appreciate you very
much and wish you all the best.
Thank you.
I appreciate you too.
Take good care.
Coming up next, we'll be chatting
with Caitlin Koskin, a recent graduate
of Texas Christian University.
Here's a quick preview.
So from a young age, I was able to travel
around to so many countries, like probably
13 by the time I was in high school.
And I think that's something I'll
forever be grateful for, from such a
young age, to be exposed to so many
different cultures and people, work ethic.
And at the time, I certainly
didn't understand it, I would
say, up to a certain extent.
And then there was a moment where it
shifted and I began to become a lot
more interested in the actual business
side of it, where I would actually sit
in on meetings, um, and participate
to an extent that certainly shaped my
interest in fashion moving forward.